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In a sea of tuxedos and fancy dresses, Detroit's most influential executives sometimes blend together. On Friday, at the North American International Auto Show, it was clear that one executive is on his way to becoming a local celebrity, even if people don't quite know what he looks like: Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

While standing in a group of people waiting to say hello to Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr., Drive On overheard this conversation:

"Who is that guy? Is that Alan Mulally?"

"No, it's Bill Ford Jr."

"Aw, we've got to keep looking."

Mulally finally surfaced around 8 p.m., sharing a platform with a TV broadcaster and a red Ford Fusion. Crowds of people stood around the platform, shooting photos with their cellphones and lining up behind a cordoned off area hoping for a chance to say hello.

After the interview ended, Mulally spent about 15 minutes posing for pictures with people, including a group of nattily dressed folks who dubbed themselves "The distressed supplier group." Another woman grabbed Mulally by the arm as he was leaving and asked for a photo, gushing that her father would be thrilled. "He's a Ford retiree, and he loves you," she told him.

Ford was the only hometown automaker to survive 2009 without filing for bankruptcy protection and without receiving a government bailout. Many locals credit Mulally, who mortgaged all of Ford's assets including the blue oval logo, for helping save the automaker.

Mulally, who came to Ford from Boeing three years ago, seems to be getting used to the attention, although he clearly loves it.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, founding members of the Cities of Service coalition, joined Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Judith Rodin to announce the winners of the first-ever Cities of Service Leadership Grants.

Ten cities were selected to receive $200,000 two-year grants, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, to hire a Chief Service Officer - a senior city official dedicated to developing and implementing a citywide plan to increase volunteerism and target volunteers to address their city's greatest needs. Due to the extraordinary response from cities to the first request for proposals - 50 cities applied to receive one of the ten grants - the mayors and Dr. Rodin announced that there will be a second competition in the coming months to award similar grants to an additional ten cities.

The announcement was made on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a national day of service, at the John Foster Dulles School of Excellence in Chicago, where more than 100 City Year Chicago high school students spent the day off painting hallways and murals, and re-organizing classrooms.

Cities of Service is a bipartisan coalition of Mayors from across the country, representing more than 38 million Americans in 80 cities, dedicated to engaging more Americans in service and channeling volunteers towards each city's most pressing challenges.

The cities selected to receive leadership grants are Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; Nashville-Davidson, TN; Newark, NJ; Omaha, NE; Philadelphia, PA; Sacramento, CA; Savannah, GA; Seattle, WA. Each of these cities displayed a strong commitment to service and outlined thoughtful, thorough and creative approaches to expanding local opportunities for volunteers to make an impact.

"I can think of no better way to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and this national day of service than to invest in the capacity of cities to mobilize their citizens in innovative ways to solve our common problems," said Mayor Bloomberg. "As we work to help our neighbors and communities through the greatest financial crisis we've seen in a long time, we believe citizen service is needed now more than ever. These grants, funded generously by the Rockefeller Foundation, will help us develop new strategies to tap volunteers as a serious strategy to solve local challenges."

"The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to continue its long tradition of supporting innovative solutions for urban communities by announcing the inaugural Cities of Service Leadership Grants," said Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Rodin. "In each of these ten unique and diverse cities, there will now be sustained opportunities to bring systematic change and greater impact to the way communities support each other. In these difficult economic times - reflected by the overwhelming response to this new effort - there is an urgent need in local communities for volunteers, and a great need for public-private partnerships that foster and support these efforts during such a critical time."

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. showed Americans the power of volunteerism. He also showed us that one person can make a difference," said Mayor Daley. "It is with this spirit that we accept the Cities of Service Leadership Grant. I am proud of the high level of volunteerism we already have in Chicago and this grant is going to help take our service to the next level. By focusing our initiative on our City's youth and those that need our help the most, we will help to secure a stronger Chicago for future generations. Volunteerism sends a powerful message - people helping people to make our cities better places to live, work and raise a family and that's the message Cities of Service carries around the nation. It is why the City of Chicago is pleased to be part of this great effort to bring new energy and new ideas to the service movement."

"I am honored that Detroit was one of the first recipients of the inaugural Cities of Service Leadership Grant," said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. "This grant will allow us to bring together citizens and harness the can-do spirit of Detroiters in the name of volunteerism."

"I first learned of this funding opportunity when I joined Mayor Bloomberg in New York in September for the formation of Cities of Service," said Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. "These are tight times for city budgets. This grant will allow us to have dedicated staff for developing service opportunities, something we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I look forward to engaging our citizens to in our cities greatest needs and priorities, especially education."

"The City of Newark is honored to be selected as one of the first recipients of the Cities of Service Leadership Grant," said Newark Mayor Cory Booker. "Critical to the achievement of our civic goals is the leadership, involvement and service of our citizens. This grant will better help us to focus, coordinate, and inspire the service of our residents enabling our city to more boldly achieve our highest aspirations. We are grateful."

"The Chief Service Officer will be a valuable asset to our community," said Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle. "Through the work of the Chief Service Officer, Omaha will experience a boost in new community volunteers, retention of current volunteers, an increase in service projects, and improved living conditions and quality of life among our citizens."

"As tens of thousands of Philadelphians are hard at work at project sites across the city to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this grant is one more thing to celebrate and is a great boost for service and volunteer efforts in Philadelphia," said Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter. "This funding allows us to implement a comprehensive civic engagement plan that will ensure volunteer efforts throughout Philadelphia are focused around our goals for a safer, greener, and better educated city. The grant is a tribute to what our city has already accomplished and we thank Cities of Service and the Rockefeller Foundation for this recognition and support."

"Today's announcement is a significant win," said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. "A Chief Service Officer will be a vehicle for Sacramento to further its volunteerism efforts, and continue to showcase our city as a national model for service in this country. Most importantly, this grant will allow Sacramento to take service to the next level to help solve some of the most pressing issues and challenges facing our city. We are thankful to the Cities of Service and Rockefeller Foundation for this generous grant."

The Cities of Service Leadership Grants will allow each city to hire a Chief Service Officer, a senior city official dedicated to developing and implementing a citywide plan to increase volunteerism and targeting volunteers to address their city's greatest needs. To develop their local plans, mayor's offices will convene strategic committees of service experts and stakeholders, conduct assessments of existing service levels, and identify collaborative partnerships to deepen the effects of local volunteerism. Each city will launch its comprehensive service plan by this fall.

As part of the application process, cities were asked to identify how they would conduct an assessment of existing service levels, produce a coordinated citywide plan to increase service, engage local universities, and appoint a Chief Service Officer who would report directly to the mayor or another high-ranking official in the administration. Applications were limited to members of theCities of Servicecoalition, to cities that have more than 100,000 residents, according to the 2000 census, and to cities that have at least one community college or four-year public or private university. In total, 50 cities applied for a leadership grant. A selection committee was established to review the applications and make the selections.

As part of each application, cities were asked to submit at least two high-priority issue areas they will target with increased service. Each winning city listed education as a high priority, and Cities of Service will develop best practices and resources to help cities target that area.

Due to the extraordinary response from cities to the first request for proposals, the Mayors and Dr. Rodin announced that there will be a second competition in the coming months to award similar grants to an additional ten cities. The second round of leadership grants will be funded jointly by the Rockefeller Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Information on how Cities of Service coalition members can apply for the second round of leadership grants will be made available at www.citiesofservice.org by the end of January 2010.

About Cities of Service

Founded in New York City on September 10, 2009 with 17 founding member cities, Cities of Service is a bipartisan coalition of mayors who have answered the historic Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act's call to action. Cities - often at the front lines of our nation's most pressing challenges - are perfectly positioned to work together to engage millions more volunteers in service and develop strategies to increase the amount and impact of local service efforts. All coalition members have signed a "Declaration of Service," committing to work together to lead a multi-year effort to expand community service and volunteerism by:

Developing a comprehensive service plan and a coordinated strategy focused on matching volunteers and established community partners to the areas of greatest local need;

Working with other mayors and elected officials to advance strategies and best practices that accelerate the service movement and produce measurable results;

Encouraging other mayors to join this national effort to engage our citizens; and ensuring that the voice of cities is heard in federal legislative, policy and program discussions related to service, which will help the country achieve the ambitious goals of the Serve America Act.

The coalition has rapidly grown since its inception in September and now includes 80 Mayors representing more than 38 million Americans in 80 cities across the nation. The coalition includes seven of the 10 largest cities in the country and 28 of the top 50 largest cities.

Despite the persistent chill in the air, baseball fever will abound on Saturday, January 23 at Comerica Park for the 16th annual TigerFest, presented by StubHub!. More than 30 Tigers players and coaches are scheduled to participate in this year's event, which will be held from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

All of the TigerFest favorites will be part of the fan festival again in 2010, including autograph booths, photo areas, behind-the-scenes tours, fan conferences and historical exhibits. This year's event will also feature a giant Detroit Tigers ice sculpture, which is slated to be over six feet tall and 13 feet wide. Master bat carver David Chandler from RxSport will be on hand conducting live bat carving demonstrations all day.

The event will not only give Tigers fans a chance to see their favorite Tigers before Spring Training, but will also give the Tigers a chance to say thanks to the fans and provide an outlook on 2010. "Detroit is a great baseball town," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "Our fans are absolutely tremendous and we appreciate that they show up to support the team all year long."

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is in the running for a $1 million prize in the nationwide Chase Community Giving “you decide what matters” facebook challenge.

The winner will be based on which of 100 competing nonprofit organizations receives the most Facebook votes from January 15th to the 22nd.

If Mosaic wins, the money will be used to transform an historic Detroit building into a permanent home for Mosaic and a center for youth excellence.

Mosaic transforms the lives of youth through professional training in the performing arts, including acting, singing and stagecraft. Mosaic’s all-teen performances have toured Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.S. including appearances at the White House, the Kennedy Center and on The Today Show. Mosaic’s youth development model has even achieved national recognition for the fact that 95% of Mosaic ensemble members graduate from high school and go on to college. Yet, we are being forced to leave our facility in July. With your help and your vote, Mosaic can establish a permanent home that will empower Detroit youth for generations to come.

Go to www.mosaicdetroit.org to find out how to vote. It only takes a minute, yet it could mean $1 million for the youth of Detroit. If you’re already on Facebook, click here to become a Fan and cast your vote for Mosaic!

Looking to expand your knowledge on how the online world affects business?

FutureMidwest, the region’s largest technology and knowledge conference, is aimed at helping businesses successfully implement digital strategies that positively impact their bottom line. The two-day conference will debut in Royal Oak, Mich., April 16 – 17, 2010 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

FutureMidwest will highlight how technology and social media have dramatically changed the way we do business and the effect this transition has had on companies. The conference will feature presentations, group breakout sessions and relationship-building opportunities with influencers who are redefining business in the digital age. Speakers and breakout session leaders will provide practical information on how attendees can effectively implement digital strategies into their marketing and communication programs. Lessons on monitoring, analyzing and measurement will go hand-in-hand with brand case studies and guidelines for successfully using online tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, forums and YouTube.

Local speakers include Scott Monty from Ford, Ken Burbary from Ernst & Young, Scott Hauman from Daggerfin, Tim Schaden from Fluency Media and Samuel Valenti IV from Ghostly International.
Founded by Adrian Pittman, director of development and partner at Module, Jordan Wolfe, founder of uwemp and Zach Lipson, founder of Leftos.com, FutureMidwest is the fusion of two successful events held in Michigan in 2009 – the Module Midwest Digital Conference and TechNow.

“Zach, Jordan and I see FutureMidwest as the cornerstone of conversation, idea and new relationships formed from uniting people who want to learn how social media impacts business growth,” said Adrian Pittman. “This conference will ignite dialogue between the younger and more seasoned generations, inspiring them to apply the knowledge they learned about new technologies to their respective industries.”

Who Should Attend?

FutureMidwest is an ideal conference for anyone involved in business development, including executive management and decision makers from small and mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, brand managers, marketing and communication professionals and professionals in the digital/technology spheres. Students working toward a degree in a related field and groups/organizations are also welcome.

Am I Too Old?

This conference isn’t exclusively for the 20-something digital natives who have profiles on every existing social networking site. Executives and business leaders who want to learn how social media can positively impact their company’s bottom line will find value in attending FutureMidwest.

How Do I Register?

Early-bird tickets with discounted rates are on sale now through February 15. Early bird tickets with discounted rates are on sale now through February 15 at http://www.futuremidwest.com/register.html. Pricing options include:

Tickets can be purchased from February 16 through April 16 at regular pricing. A portion of the conference proceeds will benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Michigan Chapter, Inc.

Schedule Highlights

· Thursday, April 15 – Conference kick-off event
· Friday, April 16 – Ten speaker sessions on topics ranging from making online integration work for any business and going global using social media. Evening networking/entertainment event featuring a street fair with vendors.
· Saturday, April 17 – Interactive breakout sessions. Speakers will empower attendees to apply what they learned during the Friday program.

Automakers and officials at the North American International Auto Show struck an optimistic yet cautious tone as they sought to put a toxic year of slumping sales and massive government aid behind.

“This is a new day,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at the annual show. “Today is a new beginning, really.”

Following a disastrous year that saw GM and Chrysler forced into government-led bankruptcy, many executives said 2010 sales should be much better after plunging to 10.4 million units last year, 39 percent below the market’s peak in 2005. The unanswered question, however, is what the U.S. economy will do following its longest, deepest downturn since the 1930s.

It is just over a year since America’s automakers went to Washington amid the worst sales slump in decades to seek emergency government funding totaling some $120 billion. In a flash of humor at the show, that dark moment in American car history was honored by local company Great Lakes Coffee, which served its own “Bailout Blend” coffee.

With the outlook for 2010 sales still uncertain, many automakers touted upcoming electric car technology, an area that the U.S. government has backed with subsidies and low-cost loans.

However, every silver lining has its caveat. Jim McDowell, American head of BMW’s Mini unit, said if unemployment rises or the housing market weakens further that could dampen demand.

“In 2009, we discovered we have a new competitor that we have have never dealt with before and it’s savings,” he told Reuters. “Anything that throws major elements of uncertainty in front of the consumer are the kinds of things that could depress sales.”

“But ultimately sales will increase because the car fleet is getting older and older,” McDowell added.

In a well-worn dictionary that Jen Wright has regularly thumbed through since elementary school, words are circled and playful notes point to newfound terms, chronicling Wright’s path through the English language.

“Your reality is absolutely the words that you hear,” said Wright, a Royal Oak-based blogger who writes for lookingglasslane.com. “We craft our world through words, so to give a child that is a very powerful thing.”

Wright’s hope for Detroit, a city that’s no stranger to bad publicity, helped her connect with Erin Rose — a blogger from Ferndale and one-woman show behind PositiveDetroit.net, which highlights good things happening in the city and the surrounding metro area.

Like Wright, Rose had a dictionary and other tools at her disposal when she was growing up that helped writing become a natural and enjoyable process. Without those tools, writing would have been arduous and very difficult, Rose said.

Driven to create change in the Metro Detroit area, Rose, Wright and other local female bloggers are teaming up with Operation: Kid Equip, a Berkley-based nonprofit, to help bring dictionaries to third-graders in Ferndale Public Schools.

On Wednesday, 58 third-graders at John F. Kennedy School in Oak Park got new dictionaries due to the bloggers’ and nonprofit’s efforts in reaching out to the community.

“Just to help children understand their language and learning new words to add to their vocabulary, I think will be very important,” said Dina Krause, principal at Roosevelt Primary School in Ferndale, which is scheduled to receive dictionaries for its third-graders on Friday.

“Having each child have his or her own dictionary will also help out and support their writing when they’re doing their writing projects, science or social studies projects. Being able to go in and look up words that they may or may not know, and having that right at the tip of their hands will be very, very helpful.”

Through March 15, the bloggers and Operation: Kid Equip will be tweeting, blogging and posting on their Facebook pages to raise funds to deliver dictionaries to roughly 2,700 third-graders in Oakland County.

But why old-school, paper-bound dictionaries?

“Technology is the easiest way to get the word out and to reach a lot of people,” said Becks Davis, a participating blogger who writes detroitmoxie.com. “But what we sometimes forget is, a lot of these kids, they don’t have computers at home. They can’t jump onto dictionary.com or have a spell check while they’re typing.”

And so far, the viral promotion is going well.

Two weeks after the bloggers simultaneously announced the project in December, sufficient funds were raised to give a dictionary to each third-grader at Roosevelt Primary School and John F. Kennedy School.

“I think people see that its not just throwing money away,” said Menachem-Michael Kniespeck, co-founder of Operation: Kid Equip. “They’re truly investing in a child’s future.”

Kniespeck’s organization focuses on getting school supplies to students from low-income backgrounds around southeastern Michigan.

Because of the economy, many kids are coming to school without school supplies that are essential to gaining an education, Kniespeck said, adding that his organization is investing in children instead of pouring money into a problem.

And soon, third-graders in the Hazel Park School District will be looking forward to crates of dictionaries coming their doorstep — they’re next up on the nonprofit and bloggers’ list.

Wright has no doubt that a few or more of the dictionaries could end up collecting dust in a closet or lost on the floor of a school bus, but it’s important to make these tools available to students since one of them could be the next Henry Ford, she said.

“I’m really excited to see who Detroit makes next,” Wright said. “If we’re trying to craft a new generation and words are so powerful, a dictionary is a perfect place to start.”

Kozmos Coney Island, located at 525 N. Main St. in downtown Milford, will host a free breakfast on Wednesday, Jan. 20 to raise funds for needy families in the Milford area.

From 7 a.m. – 11 a.m., Kozmos will serve up complimentary pancakes and sausage, encouraging patrons to make a donation following their meal. All proceeds will benefit Community Sharing and local families struggling to feed their families and pay medical bills.

Community Sharing helps provide ongoing support to more than 300 families in the Huron Valley area each month, more than quadruple the number of people that received assistance when the organization was founded in 2004.

“The need doesn’t stop after the holidays, in fact many times it only gets worse,” said Sharon Murphy, owner of Kozmos. “I personally know many families in this area who have been hit hard by the economy, and we wanted to help. This breakfast is something positive our restaurant and patrons can do to help the community.”

Kozmos wait staff, as well as representatives from several area organizations including Community Sharing, the Milford Downtown Development Authority and Village offices, Milford Rotary Club, Milford Police Department, Milford and Highland Business Associations, Carl’s Family YMCA, Huron Valley State Bank, National City Bank and the Huron Valley Board of Education will donate their time as servers.

All tips will benefit the cause as well.

Starbucks of Milford, Sam’s Club, Bazzi Food Service, Detroit Sausage Company and Direct Paper Supply are donating items to help make the breakfast possible.

For more information on the fundraiser, call Kozmos Coney Island at (248) 210-0623.

American Express, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and City Year Detroit are bringing together the community to celebrate diversity on Martin Luther King Day at Osborn High School on Detroit’s eastside.

From 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., students from Osborn and City Year will put together welcome kits for Freedom House Detroit, a temporary home for survivors of persecution from around the world seeking legal shelter in the United States and, in turn, will learn about immigrants in the their area through an informative presentation.

Additionally, community members are invited to participate in a beautification effort at Osborn that began in the fall. Volunteers will work on a variety of revitalization projects including painting classrooms and travel-related murals and creating a study area for Osborn students.

X Prize officials announced at the North American International Auto Show that 51 vehicles would be competing for the $10 million prize for bringing the fastest, most efficient manufacturable car to the planet.

Dr. Peter Diamandis, the high-tech advocate who founded the X Prize competitions, said the events begin April 26 with the "shakedown stage" at MIS.

The stage, continuing through May 7, will feature safety inspections and on-track testing.

There will also be a formal competition opener event April 29 at the state Capitol.

June 20-28 is a knockout qualifying stage at MIS, with head-to-head competitions for speed and the X Prize's 100 mpg floor.

There will be more testing at MIS July 19-30.

In August, the top teams will head either to the Environmental Protection Agency auto labs in Ann Arbor or to the Argonne National Laboratories near Chicago for dynamometer testing.

The top prizes will be awarded in Washington, D.C. in September.

Diamandis said he isn't worried about being leapfrogged by the traditional auto industry, which is working furiously on hybrid and electric vehicles, some of which top the equivalent of 100 mpg.

"Remember, this is a race, and 100 mpg or equivalent is our floor," Diamandis said. "It's not enough for us to have one or two cars in the marketplace (from traditional automakers). We're looking to bring 51 vehicles from 41 teams around the world competing all tot he marketplace. We're looking to create a new generation of cars, a new paradigm. You don't hve to choose any more between safe, good looking, fast and efficient, you can have it all."

Diamandis has undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a medical degree from Harvard. He's a passionate advocate for private spaceflight, having established the original X Prize for the first private reusable suborbital spaceship.

Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City examines how Detroit, a symbol of America’s diminishing status in the world, may come to represent the future of transportation and progress in America. The film debuts nationally on PBS on February 8 at 10 pm (check local listings).

Detroit is the crucible in which the nation’s ability to move toward a modern 21st century transportation infrastructure is put to the test. The documentary shows how investments in the past — beginning with the construction of canals in the 18th century — profoundly shaped Detroit’s physical layout, population growth and economic development. Before being dubbed the Motor City, Detroit was once home to the nation’s most extensive streetcar system. In fact, it was that vast network of streetcars that carried workers to the area’s many car factories. And it was the cars made in those factories that would soon displace the streetcars in Detroit — and in every major American city.

Detroit’s engineers went on to design the nation’s first urban freeways and inspired much of America’s 20th century transportation infrastructure system — from traffic signals to gas stations — that became the envy of the word.

But over the last 30 years, much of the world has moved on, choosing faster, cleaner, more modern transportation and leaving America — and Detroit — behind. Viewers are taken on a journey beyond Detroit’s blighted urban landscape to Spain, home to one of the world’s most modern and extensive transit systems; to California, where voters recently said yes to America’s first high speed rail system; and to Washington, where Congress will soon decide whether to finally push America’s transportation into the 21st century.

Before opening to the public, the Detroit auto show always begins with a week of preview days, first for the media and then for dealers and others who work in the auto industry.

Perhaps organizers should have scheduled a government preview day, too, to accommodate the politicians and federal officials planning to tour the show floor at Cobo Center this week.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, and the transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, are among those flying to Detroit on Monday. All are flying on commercial airlines to minimize expenses and to avoid controversy after the automakers’ chief executives were berated for taking private jets to Washington to ask for a bailout.

Show officials thought there was a chance that President Obama would attend to see how General Motors and Chrysler are faring after their bankruptcies, but a White House spokeswoman said the president would not attend.

This will be the third consecutive year that politicians have crashed the show’s media days. Last year, Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who voted against aid to G.M. and Chrysler, spent an evening checking out both companies’ new models. In 2008, the three top Republican candidates for the presidential nomination crisscrossed the show floor simultaneously on the eve of Michigan’s primary.

“It’s become part of the program, I guess,” said the show’s chairman, Doug Fox, who owns a Nissan and Hyundai dealership in Ann Arbor, Mich. “It’s a great thing for the show. It also helps show that there are good things happening in Detroit, and that’s a word that needs to be spread around the country.”

But the visits also have the potential to distract. Automakers spend millions of dollars setting up displays and staging introductions of new models, and they want the show to focus on their vehicles.

This year’s media preview has been condensed to two days from three, and the lawmakers are visiting on the first day, when most of the big introductions take place.

At the same time, given the amount of taxpayer money poured into the auto industry in 2009, Congressional leaders would most likely face criticism if they ignored the show. The government now owns 60 percent of G.M. and about 10 percent of Chrysler, having lent a total of $62.5 billion to the two companies.

In fact, some in Detroit wonder why more members of Congress did not visit a year ago, when they were debating assistance for G.M. and Chrysler, with much of the opposition based on what supporters say are outdated perceptions of the industry.

“To fly to Detroit, in January no less, sends a message that the industry is important to the nation’s economy,” a G.M. spokesman, Greg Martin, said. “Any overture to better understand our industry and talk cars should be an opportunity to embrace. We’re proud of the cars and trucks that we’re building, so we’re happy to show them off.”

Many of the visitors from Congress, which include both Democrats and Republicans, are coming at the invitation of Representative John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who was among those lobbying the hardest for the government to help rescue the automakers. A large part of Michigan’s 17-member Congressional delegation is attending.

A tour of the show floor is only a small part of the agenda. They also plan to meet with the chief executives of all three Detroit automakers, leaders of the United Automobile Workers union and Mayor Dave Bing of Detroit, among others.

“Our bipartisan delegation will visit Detroit to see first hand the innovative technologies the industry is investing in to create the jobs of the future and to ensure our national competitiveness,” Ms. Pelosi said through a spokesman. “We go to Detroit with our commitment to continue to preserve our manufacturing base, which is essential to our economic and national security.”

Though many here hope the show can counter the unflattering opinions many outsiders have of Detroit, Mr. Corker said his visit did not cause him to reconsider his stance toward the industry.

“If anything,” he told reporters who were following him around the show floor, “being here makes me even more committed to the things I said, and that is, we need to cause these companies to get their capital structure and competitiveness right so we can see these great products that they’ve been working on for years sold to Americans and sold to people around the world.”

With $6,000 and some Hollywood-style spunk, four friends opened this city’s only independent foreign movie house three months ago in an abandoned school auditorium on an unlighted stretch of the Cass Corridor near downtown.

After the unlikely hoopla of an opening night, red-carpet-style event in an area known for drugs and prostitution, exactly four customers showed up to see a film.

Since then, the Burton Theater has had a few profitable nights. But, the owners say, this adventure in entrepreneurship was never completely about making money. It was also about creating a more livable community.

“Nobody could comprehend why we’d start a theater,” said an investor, Nathan Faustyn, 25. “But when you live in Detroit, you ask, ‘What can I do for the city?’ We needed this. And we had nothing to lose. When you’re at the bottom of the economic ladder, you have nowhere to look but up.”

Despite the recession — and in some cases because of it — small businesses are budding around Detroit in one of the more surprising twists of the downturn. Some new businesses like the Burton are scratching by. Others have already grown beyond the initial scope of their business plans, juggling hundreds of customers and expanding into new sites.

Across from the Burton, for instance, Jennifer Willemsen just celebrated the first anniversary of her shop, Curl Up and Dye, a retro-themed hair salon serving 1,500 clients. Not far away, Torya Blanchard, a former French teacher, recently opened the second location of Good Girls Go to Paris, a creperie. Next door, Greg Lenhoff, also a former teacher, opened a bookstore in August called Leopold’s.

And just down the street from Leopold’s, on Woodward Avenue, Victor Both runs Breezecab, a company he started with a severance package after a layoff from Wayne State University. He uses rickshaws to ferry workers and conventioneers around downtown. “This filled a transportation void,” said Mr. Both, 34, who picked up the pedicab idea while touring Las Vegas before his layoff. “I haven’t made much money, but the experience has been priceless. I had no idea Detroit had so much love.”

It is not an uncommon instinct to start an enterprise in bad times and seize on weakened competition, lower overhead costs and perhaps more free time. Nor is it limited to Detroit. But the trend is particularly striking here, in a city that was suffering long before the rest of the nation fell into recession and where hard times, business closings and abandonment became routine generations ago.

Experts say the zeal for entrepreneurship these days in Detroit and elsewhere has precedent: according to research by Dane Stangler, a senior analyst at the Kauffman Foundation, a center for economic research in Kansas City, Mo., half the companies on the Fortune 500 list this year were founded in recession or bear markets. Further, Mr. Stangler said in an interview, company survival rates going back to 1977 show a negligible difference between companies founded in expansions and recessions.

For some of the new businesses, preparation was minimal.

“All I really needed was a garage, a cellphone and a Web site,” said Mr. Both, who started Breezecab with two leased rickshaws.

Ms. Blanchard’s creperie was more complicated. The restaurant is in the first-floor retail space of what had been an unattractive apartment complex. When the site came under new management recently, the landlord offered to gut the retail space, spending about $70,000 on improvements, Ms. Blanchard said. She put in the rest: $15,000 in equipment, a coat of red paint, an oversize blackboard for the menu, and her own collection of vintage French movie posters.

Now, Ms. Blanchard pays what she calls a “ridiculously low” rent of $1,600 a month for a 1,000-square-foot space that accommodates 45 diners at Parisian-style cafe tables near the Detroit Institute of Arts.

“This was a place to watch your back just four years ago,” said Ms. Blanchard, who founded the business with a cashed-out 401(k).

“I just wanted to do something that I loved,” she said. “And everything worked its way out.”

Michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate of any state, has been aggressive in offering support for start-up companies, particularly in Detroit. The Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center, which offers support and counseling, counts 20 small businesses, and 400 new jobs, created last year in the three-county area around Detroit, and the center expects that tally to grow as it completes its accounting in the coming weeks. That was down from 41 new businesses in 2008, but on par with the 23 such start-ups in 2007 and 24 in 2006.

At Wayne State University’s business incubator, TechTown, housed in a former auto plant, 150 companies jostle for space — up from one when the building opened five years ago.

“I find it inspiring,” Peter Bregman, the chief executive of Bregman Partners, a New York management consulting firm, said of what is happening in Detroit. “There’s something about that feeling — ‘Maybe America abandoned us, but we’re not going to abandon us.’ ”

Analysts say the entrepreneurs have tapped into buyers’ penchants for spending locally in a bad economy, along with a longstanding void in the service industry.

Some business owners are also capitalizing on a newly energized nostalgia for the vibrant Detroit that used to be, and the more general trend toward urban living.

“This is a passion project for most people,” said Claire Nelson, owner of the Bureau of Urban Living, an accessories boutique, and one of the organizers of a loose network of local entrepreneurs that functions like a support group.

“We’ve got all this empty space in Detroit,” said Ms. Nelson, 33. “If landlords are willing to work with us, we pour our hearts and souls into the place.”

Once the Burton Theater carved out its space in the schoolhouse that closed in 2002 — a 1920s-era building that had receded into the shadows like so many empty spaces in Detroit — the city, which had let the block go dark, turned the streetlights back on. The relighting was a victory felt far beyond the Burton.

“Our business ideas are about taking ownership of where you are and what you have,” said Ms. Willemsen, 29, of Curl Up and Dye. “We want to do right by our neighbors.”

And some customers are going out of their way to support the new city businesses.

“I live in the suburbs where I used to get my hair cut until Jen opened a store,” said Dessa Cosma, a client at Curl Up and Dye. “I’d rather spend my money here. It’s a conscious decision for someone who cares about the city.”

Titled "187 Detroit," the pilot marks ABC's first drama pickup that will be in the running for next season. "Detroit" is shot in the style of a fictional documentary crew following a top homicide division and has a realistic yet sometimes humorous tone.

"Detroit" is produced by ABC Studios and Mandeville, executive produced by Jason Richman, David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. ABC has been one of the more aggressive networks in getting development ready for next season, with several comedy pilots already picked up.

ABC has been one of the more aggressive networks in getting development ready for next season, having ordered comedies “Women Are Crazy” and “Awkward Situations for Men.”

In a generally bleak employment picture, the green jobs sector is growing faster than any other. By 2007, a Pew Charitable Trusts report on the Clean Energy Economy counted 770,000 jobs in all 50 states that met the "double bottom line" of economic growth and environmental sustainability. Clean energy economy jobs grew by 9.1% between 1998 and 2007, compared to just 3.7% in overall job growth in those years (before the markets crashed). Venture capital investment -- thin on the ground throughout the economy now -- totaled $12.6 billion in the clean tech sector between 2006 and 2009.

A new report from the Global Climate Network (composed of nine think tanks, including the Center for American Progress) predicts that the world's eight leading economies will create 20 million new jobs between now and 2020. In the U.S., the report said, the stimulus package and the American Clean Energy and Security Act could help create as many as 1.9 million new green jobs in the period. The move to a "smart grid" could create 270,000 jobs, and a further 138,000 if U.S. smart grid technologies are exported to a global market, the report said.

On the downside, a study from King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, Spain says that for every job created with energy price supports, 2.2 are lost in other industries. According to Gabriel Calzada, an economics professor at the university, each Spanish green job cost $774,000.

But PRTM global management consultants takes issue with that conclusion, explaining that jobs building green energy and electric vehicles are part of a global race. "The rest of the world is not going to wait when it comes to EVs and green energy, and jobs will be created somewhere," said PRTM's Oliver Hazimeh, who heads the firm's global e-mobility practice. "If the U.S. doesn't capture these jobs, then they may be lost to other markets, which could lead to a result similar to what occurred in Spain."

The federal stimulus bill contained more than $30 billion for clean energy, and the mantra espoused by now-deposed green jobs czar Van Jones was that the new positions should go to freshly trained Americans from some of the hardest-hit jobless populations. With unemployment over 10%, people need to go where the jobs are, and some states -- and some cities -- are making out better than others as the green jobs phenomenon unfolds. While every state and most American cities have a piece of the new economy, here are the five cities that -- through a combination of federal, state and municipal programs -- are faring best.

According to the Pew report, 65% of the national clean energy jobs in 2007 went to conservation and pollution mitigation -- by far the largest category. Clean energy accounted for 11.6% of new jobs in the period, energy efficiency for 9.5%, environmentally friendly production 7%, and training and support 6.8%. But environmentally friendly production saw the most growth: Up 67% from 1998 to 2007 (followed by clean energy, up 23%).

Of the top 10 clean-tech employers around the world identified by Clean Edge, four are in the U.S. (in Illinois, Washington, Arkansas and California). Clean Edge defines the top five sectors for clean-tech jobs in the U.S. as (in descending order): solar, biofuels and biomaterials, conservation and efficiency, smart grid and wind power. There's a long way to go. Only in Oregon are green jobs more than one percent of total employment (and it's only 1.02% of the 1.9 million jobs there).

Detroit

The Motor City makes few Top Ten lists. Its vaunted monorail goes practically nowhere, its downtown is still struggling, and political turmoil at City Hall -- added to daunting budgetary constraints -- has kept civic progress at a minimum. But help is on the way, in the form of federal Department of Energy green-tech grants that are funding factories and creating jobs to tap into the vast pool of skilled auto industry talent in the metropolitan area. The state had created more than 22,000 clean-tech jobs by 2007, but those numbers will jump impressively when the 2009 DOE funding puts spades in the ground.

Michigan did make one Top Ten list: It was number seven on a list of clean energy jobs compiled by Pew Charitable Trusts. Clean Edge identifies the green transportation sector as one of four growth areas, and that benefits the cluster of companies making hybrid and electric vehicles in the greater Detroit area. Even companies not based in Michigan -- such as California's Fisker Automotive and Ford battery car supplier Magna International -- have opened hubs near Detroit. A mechanical engineer working on plug-in hybrids and EVs can expect to make $63,600 median pay with a bachelor's degree, reports Clean Edge. A great example of what's happening in the Rust Belt is the transformation of the Ford Motor Company plant in Wixom, Michigan from a shuttered eyesore that had lost 1,500 jobs to an incubator for Xtreme Power (which makes power systems for wind and solar) and Clairvoyant Energy (solar).

Michigan lost 3.6% of its jobs between 1998 and 2007, but clean jobs were a bright spot: Some 1,932 new clean businesses were started, offering 22,674 jobs. Some $55 million in venture capital was invested between 2006 and 2008. The state was 10th in the nation in adding new jobs in conservation and pollution mitigation in 2007.

Jay Leno – in his traditional jeans and jean shirt, of course – has just had the opportunity to park a pre-production Chevy Volt in his Big Dog Garage, and he's kindly shared the experience with his fans. Right off the bat, Jay likens the future-tech Volt to a 1916 Owens Magnetic that operates on the exact same principle, proving that all good ideas eventually have their day in the sun on the road.

Leno has some interesting questions for Volt Chief Engineer Andrew Farah that are likely to be on the minds of regular shoppers who may consider the Volt for their next new car at the end of 2010. He also like the car's high-tech, lightweight stick... watch the video to see what we mean.

Naturally, Jay eventually takes the Volt out for a spin, and from what we can tell, he came away impressed. Somehow, Leno ends up talking about the Mazda Miata and wristwatches and why men should buy the Volt... or something like that. Anyway, hit the jump to watch the video and see Jay's reaction to the 2011 Chevy Volt. Thanks for the tip, MIikael W!

Tuesday’s New York Times brings some unexpected but welcome news from Detroit: newly elected city council members are talking about the urgency of regional action.

"We need a higher standard of ethics and transparency and competence and cooperation, not just with each other but with our region and our state," says Charles Pugh, city council president-elect. His colleague Saunteel Jenkins makes the critical link between the region's crushing burden of segregation and the lack of cross-border cooperation: "One of the things that's very distracting about this region is that it is one of the most segregated areas in the country — much of what we've done in the public policy arena has been based on perceptions formed by our 1967 race riots. We want to form much more cooperative relationships."

The ability to act as a region, rather than a collection of separate and suspicious fiefdoms, is critical to Detroit's future. Regions that are fragmented and decentralized are less competitive than more cooperative regions, and have a harder time sustaining their economic strength. Researchers believe that a high degree of fragmentation makes it difficult for regions to adapt to new competitive challenges. If there was ever a region that needed all the help it could get in adjusting to a very different competitive landscape, it's Detroit.

The TNR article that I wrote a few weeks ago with Bruce Katz about how to revive Detroit noted that European cities that were in similarly disastrous straits after years of industrial decline had made regional engagement a key element of their recovery strategies. We recommended that Detroit seek out its own regional strategies. Even commentators who saw some shortcomings in our proposals agreed that engagement at the larger metropolitan level was vital.

The gap between what elected officials hope to do and what they actually can do is a vast one that has swallowed up many promising proposals. But if Detroit's incoming council members and reformist mayor Dave Bing can follow through and reach out to the surrounding suburbs — and if the surrounding suburbs, which are also engulfed by the auto industry's collapse, can overcome their own fears and stereotypes and respond to the city's overtures, the region will be a big step closer to stability and eventual recovery.

Tomorrow from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., everyone’s favorite fuzzy mascot, PAWS, will cheer on not just the Detroit Tigers, but The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit.

PAWS, in all his orange and black glory, will serve as a special celebrity Red Kettle Bell Ringer at Macy’s at Twelve Oaks Mall, using his mascot status to serve up some needed team spirit and raise money for The Salvation

Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. The public is welcome to come out, meet and take photos with PAWS, donate to his Red Kettle and help The Salvation Army reach its $7.8 million goal to help those in need right here in metro Detroit.

Macy’s at Twelve Oaks is located at 27550 Novi Rd. PAWS will be at the main entrance of Macy’s (outside) facing Novi Rd.

For more information about The Salvation Army, call 877-SAL-MICH or visit www.salmich.org.

In the spirit of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit’s ongoing efforts to help Metro Detroiters overcome challenges and secure new jobs, Goodwill Industries is encouraging members of the Metro Detroit community to show how they're helping others this holiday season through "Random Acts of Goodwill."

Through December 31, 2009, area residents can send photos, videos, voice recordings or a brief written summary of how they're giving back to others (individuals, families or organizations) this month to Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit. Submitted stories and other materials may be shared with Goodwill friends and supporters via the organization’s social media and Web properties. All submitters will automatically be entered to win prizes.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit may also share these “random acts of goodwill” with the new members of Generation Goodwill, a youth leadership and community service organization to launch in January 2010, to inspire and motivate these young volunteers. Visit www.generationgoodwill.org to find out how you can nominate a young leader to become a Generation Goodwill founding member.

The smallest efforts can make a huge difference, so please share your stories with us by e-mailing materials to director@generationgoodwill.org by December 31, 2009*. Please put “Random Acts of Goodwill” in the subject line.

A random drawing for prizes, including an 8GB iPod Nano, Caribou Coffee gift certificates and bowling packages to Drakeshire Lanes in Farmington Hills, Mich., will take place in January 2010. Winners will be notified via e-mail.

Once again, the New Year will begin with global automotive manufactures (OEMs) bringing major product announcements to Detroit for the world to see. Entering its 22nd year as an international event, the show is among the most prestigious auto shows in the world and is one of the largest media events in North America. The NAIAS 2010 has over 55 brands and companies set to exhibit, which is more than last year at this time.

Doug Fox, NAIAS Chairman says; “This show is the global forum where the positive momentum begins. The innovation touted by the exhibitors, coupled with the addition of new features at NAIAS, sets the stage for the world. Thousands of global journalists, government officials, visitors from around the world and the public, will see that momentum in motion.” The reports already indicate that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has confirmed that she will visit the show, and some even think that President Obama might make an appearance, we will just have to wait and see…

A dual approach of featuring alternative modes of motion will come together at NAIAS 2010 with the return of The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) EcoXperience and the all-new Electric Avenue presented by The Dow Chemical Company.

These features will illustrate the practical and future applications of alterative fuel technologies from major manufacturers and suppliers, marking the return of such brands as Nissan and Mitsubishi to the NAIAS.

One of the best parts is that at the EcoXperience the general public will get the chance to drive the latest alternative fuel vehicles (Jan. 16 - 24).

This show always excites me and I am always most proud that Detroit, our city, is in the global center stage and is the site of the most business news of the day to start the year.